Out N’ About: Austin, TX

Situated in the heart of Texas, Austin has some serious roots but is unlike other major cities in Texas for its attitude that is a bit more carefree than other cities in the state of Texas. It’s citizens embrace their weirdness, pride themselves on barbecue, and are often out every night listening and playing music of all genres. Austinites are still Texans, after all and have great pride in their city and state. Check out some of the quirky, musical, and outdoorsy adventures you can take while visiting Bat City!

Music City

Image: Continental Club; image courtesy of flicker.com

Austin is well known as one of the best music cities in the US. You can see live music playing every single night. That is no exaggeration! The Continental Club in South Congress has a packed bill every night of the year. The Continental Club is famous for being one of the oldest, continuously running clubs in all of Austin. Check out their club calendar by visiting continentalclub.com.

Antone’s is also a famous music venue in Austin. This joint is open 7 nights a week and is known as a blues venue that’s been bringing prominent blues artists to Austin since 1975. The stage at Antone’s has seen the likes of B.B. King, Muddy Waters, Jimmy Reed, Ray Charles, and James Brown, as well as homegrown musicians like Gary Clark Jr., Stevie Ray Vaughn, and The Fabulous Thunderbirds. For more information and to purchase tickets to a show at Antone’s, visit antonesnightclub.com.

Getting Outside in Austin!

If you visit Austin, no trip is complete without a trip to Mount Bonnell in Covert Park. Tourists have been coming to Mount Bonnell since the 1850s and in 2015, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places. The most popular way to see it, of course, is to hike up! The hike is about 1.5 miles and takes the average hiker about 1 hour 30 minutes. This hike is not particularly difficult and most people will find it doable. On your hike up, you will also encounter a famous staircase, some of the stairs are significant, but you might have to query an Austin local to find out more! Once you reach the top, the view is nothing short of spectacular. You’ll get views of Lake Austin to the South and downtown Austin.

Mount Bonnell; image courtesy of flicker.com

Austin is Weird!

Stand Up Paddleboarding

Austin is nicknamed Bat City for an eerie, weird, but wonderful reason. Austin is home to the world’s largest urban bat colony – about 1.5 million of them. Yes – those nocturnal mammals that fly in packs and sometimes turn into vampires (just kidding!) can be seen nightly typically from March to October (with climate changes last year, bats started their nightly ritual in February) coming from their lairs that are nestled in the crevices of the Ann W. Richards Congress Avenue Bridge over Lady Bird Lake. Some of the best viewing sites include the eastside walkway of the Congress Avenue Bridge. The hillside below the bridge is a bit more spacious and great for having a picnic before or after the bats emerge! And if you plan ahead, rent a kayak or canoe by the hour from one of several businesses on the shoreline. Some rental services even offer a guided tour!